Emberölés: a személyes élettörténeten túl
Homicide: Beyond Personal History

Summary/Abstract: Increasing criminality is one of the most serious problems of Romanian society. As the author has presented in her book, the rate of criminality has shown an increasing tendency after 1989, but the causes go back before 1989, and consist in the increase of pauperisation of society and decrease of the trust in institutions that were responsible for the social control. In the early nineties the significant political, social and economical reforms at the macro-level have lead to the outburst of social anomia that has existed since the late eighties, although in a hidden form. It is interesting to see that criminality in all its forms has increased in the first six years after 1989. Regarding homicide an increase can be observed only compared to 1989, after this period it has shown a steady rate, except in 1992, when there were 824 registered homicides (statistics show that this number has been 344 in 1989, and 772 in 1990). The tendency on regional and county level has been the same, of increase, but at county level there were still differences, and the county of Cluj has not been in the top, like counties from the South and East of Romania (Ialomiţa, Călăraşi, Mehedinţi, Botoşani and Vrancea). Among the main causes of homicide we can indicate the social and economical conditions, the „sociability” of the individuals, as Boudon calls it. This is why we can see that the majority of this type of crimes has been committed in economically and socially backward counties. Regarding the ways of committing homicides, the most were done by stabbing with the knife (37%) and by kicking and thumping the victims. In 75% of the cases they were done under the influence of alcohol, and, as the life-histories of the aggressors reveal it, they had an affective background and the victim and the aggressor were acquainted. The book also deals with the life and future perspectives of those who were convicted, their very personal way of coping with this new and so much different situation.

• Details
• Contents